Contact us
- 020 3116 6338
-
Ark Start
1 Nicholas Road,
London, W11 4AN - info@arkstart.org.uk
Our Nurseries
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Discover answers to our most asked questions below.
You must buy childcare by the session either term time only or all year round. Our sessions are:
If you are entitled to 15 funded hours, this equates to:
If you’re entitled to 30 funded hours, this equates to:
Fees cover everything with the exception of snacks and meals; nappies and wipes; and certain offsite visits – we publish these at the beginning of the year so families can plan.
Yes. We charge £2.55 for lunch and snacks each 9am -3pm day (or just 40p for snacks if you bring a packed lunch). For an 8am – 5pm day we charge £3.60 for lunch, tea and snacks, including breakfast (or just 60p for snacks if you bring a packed lunch). We do this to try and keep fees as low as possible. If you have any trouble paying these, please come and speak to the office staff.
You will be invoiced monthly, in advance. When payments have not been made, the nursery reserves the right to remove any fee-incurring sessions or lunches from future bookings until the debt is cleared.
No, we don’t require a registration fee or deposit. We also don’t charge for showarounds, home visits or to go on the waiting list.
Yes, if you take a holiday during your booked sessions, you will be charged, as the place will still be held for you. You will not be charged when the nursery is closed.
We are open from 8am – 5pm every day. We are closed for 3 weeks a year and for bank holidays.
No. We run from 8am – 5pm Monday to Friday.
Parents are required to give one month’s notice if they wish to change their booking pattern. This notice needs to be given in writing, the nursery staff cannot agree to booking changes directly.
Our nurseries serve a range of ages from as young as 9 months to the day children start school (the legal requirement is to start school the term after a child turns 5).
The government offer support for childcare costs. You can check your entitlements here. Alternatively, you can speak to our nursery team who will help you understand your entitlements. You may also be entitled to tax free childcare, find out more here.
3-year-olds will be able to start a funded nursery place in the September, January or April following their third birthday. Their birthday must be before 31st March for funding from Summer Term (April), 31st August for Autumn Term (September) & 31st December for Spring Term (January).
Term Time Only – 5 sessions / week.
In general, the following options are available:
School day
Morning and afternoon sessions Monday and Tuesday and morning session on Wednesday
Or afternoon session on Wednesday and morning and afternoon sessions on Thursday and Friday
Full days
Morning, afternoon and wrap around session one day a week with a morning and afternoon session on the other day
All year round – 4 sessions / week
School day
9am – 3pm Monday and Tuesday or Thursday and Friday
Term Time Only – 10 sessions / week.
In general, the following options are available:
School day
Morning and afternoon sessions Monday to Friday
Full days
Morning, afternoon and wrap around sessions two days a week
Morning and afternoon sessions two days a week
All year round – 8 sessions / week
Morning and afternoon sessions four days a week
Morning, afternoon and wrap around sessions two days a week and one morning and afternoon session one day a week
Yes. You first need to apply for tax-free childcare here. You can speak to our admissions team for more information.
As a minimum, 50% of staff in any nursery must hold a full and relevant qualification. At Ark Start, our nurseries are led by qualified teachers and we support all our staff to keep learning in line with our values – from apprentices working towards a level three to staff taking on graduate or even post-graduate qualifications.
The staff to child ratio in the UK is laid out in law: 1:8 for three and four year olds (or 1:13 if there is a qualified teacher in the room); 1: 4 for two year olds and 1:3 for under 2s.
Parents are required to give one month’s notice if their child is no longer going to attend an Ark Start nursery. This notice needs to be done in writing, the nursery staff cannot agree to booking changes directly.
We aim to make transitions as minimal as possible and work hard with children to ensure they are ready and excited to start school. When we can, we will accompany groups of children to visit their new primary school and share information between settings.